PSX NATION: welcome to the world.

It's always a pleasure to see something you love come together in one complete package. For a while now Farscape fans could grab their show on DVD but much like Stargate SG-1, they had to settle for single discs with a couple of episodes.

ADV films this past October finally rectified this with a nicely designed and packaged box set that brings all of the single discs together in one convienent set. Like most fans I was incredibly upset to learn that the show has been canceled. However in a twisted way this only makes this set that much more valuable.

Farscape opens with Astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder), a scientist who heads off on a space shuttle to test his gravity-bounce theory in a nifty little spaceship he designed himself. Things are going mostly well until the experiment he runs smacks into the middle of a wormhole.

When Crichton awakes he finds himself lost in a strange place. Of course his loneliness is short as he suddenly collides with a spacecraft killing its pilot. Seeking safety he ends up aboard another vessel which unfortunate for him is a prison ship!

Crichton is quickly introduced to a crazy cast of characters including a big, bad-tempered Luxan warrior called Ka D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe), a small ex-politician, Rygel XVI, who has been kicked out of office, a priestess (Virginia Hey), and an also-just-arrived officer of the ruthless Peacekeepers Aeryun Sun (Claudia Black).

It seems that Crichton has landed right into the middle of a war, with these so called peacekeepers using ruthless practices to control the part of space he is now located in. Thus the series is set with a bang.

The first season like most Sci-Fi shows was admittedly up and down. After a killer opening to introduce the show, things went down until midway through the first season where the show in my opinion really finished strong.

One thing that really set this series apart was the use of puppetry provided by Jim Henson's workshop. I grew up loving the muppets of course so to see his work expanded into a Sci-Fi setting really is a pleasure. Farscape has enough seriousness to make their use work.

The complete season list includes 22 episodes spread over a slip covered DVD-only box set containing all eleven individual first-season episode discs in six DVD cases. These include

Premiere

I, E.T.,

Exodus from Genesis

Back and Back and Back to the Future

Throne for a Loss

PK Tech Girl

Thank God It's Friday, Again

That Old Black Magic

DNA Mad Scientist

They've Got a Secret

Til the Blood Runs Clear

The Flax

Rhapsody in Blue

Jeremiah Crichton

Durka Returns

A Human Reaction

Through the Looking Glass

ADV Films should be commended for finally bringing the entire season together as other Sci-Fi series like X-Files and STTNG have done. It's a beautiful package for a really well done show that is over far too quickly.

The Disc:

One of the best things about the show was also its eventual downfall. The show is simply gorgeous, filled with the magic of Jim Henson. This all comes at a stiff price, which is one reason this set retails for more than other comparable sets. However when viewed in DVD form this show truly rocks. The transfer is so damn gorgeous that this is a showcase series for the format. The blacks of space are pristine with no sign of edge haloing anywhere.

The audio on the discs also pump up the action with remastered Dolby Digital 5.1, as well as the 2.0 offering. This show is filled with uses appropriate for the audio wonder and boy does it show. The surround sound is really well done.

Extras on the disc are included on the second disc of each set and are informative but not quite exciting. I'm sure the Henson company had plenty more to offer than what is given here. I hope subsequent seasons offer more indepth behind the scenes and audio commentary. Still not shabby for the first season.

bottom line:

One of the best first season offerings seen in a complete box set. The show is one of the best to come out over the last few years in the genre. This is truly one box set worth picking up this Christmas.

By - Brian "Shroom" Gray